Maxine Carr will not seek a judicial review of a decision by prisons chief
Martin Narey to block her early release under the electronic tagging scheme.

Her lawyers made the announcement on Thursday, two weeks after Mr Narey used new powers to turn down Carr's bid for immediate release.

He said it would undermine public confidence in the programme.

Carr, 26, was jailed for three-and-a-half years at the Soham trial and has served 18 months, 16 of them on remand.

She was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Her ex-boyfriend, school caretaker Ian Huntley, was jailed for life for the murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

ELECTRONIC TAGGING

Only three out of every ten prisoners eligible to be considered for the scheme are granted early release

Five out of every 100 prisoners released under the scheme are recalled to jail

An average of 2,000 people are tagged at any one time

A total of 21,400 have been tagged

She will be eligible for paroled release at the halfway point of her sentence, in May.

But she was approved by the governor of London's Holloway prison for the Home Detention Curfew (HDC) scheme, which would have allowed her to leave jail three months earlier if she agreed to electronic tagging.

When it emerged weeks ago that this approval was likely, the Home Office moved quickly to give Mr Narey new powers to overturn decisions made by prison governors, if he felt it would undermine public confidence in the HDC programme.

When he used these powers, Carr's legal team considered the possibility of a legal review but have now said there will be no proceedings.

'Exceptional case'

Carr's solicitors Lewis James said: "Martin Narey considered Miss Carr's application for HDC as a result of
changes made to the HDC scheme which were announced by the Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State on 14 January.

"We consider these changes to be at the very least legally questionable.

"However, the facts of Miss Carr's case are exceptional and having discussed
the position with her, she has decided not to pursue any proceedings relating to
those changes.

"We can also confirm that she will not appeal Martin Narey's decision to
refuse her application for HDC."

When Mr Narey refused her application, he told her the adverse publicity surrounding the case meant her early release would undermine public confidence in the HDC
scheme.

And living in her home town of Grimsby, as she wanted, could put her life in danger.